Scott Peotter is soon to be recalled by the residents of Newport Beach.

Rather than offer any defense for his irresponsible behavior and ideas on the city council, Peotter and the puppet masters behind him offer only the argument that the recall would result in a cost estimated by the county to be $272,885-$303,385.

How does this cost compare with some of Peotter’s other ideas?

$273,000: The cost of a special election for the Museum House which Peotter advocated for rather than simply to rescind project approvals.

$480,000: The amount of road improvement funds Peotter proposed to turn down in order to “make a point.” This amount would have risen to $1.9 million annually had he succeeded.

$355,000: The amount of taxpayer dollars paid out to the owners of Woody’s Wharf, major Peotter donors.

$500,000: The amount of the fee cut given to mooring holders, 60 percent of whom do not live in Newport Beach.

$300,000: The cost of the politically motivated “audit” of city hall which has never been actually completed and was settled with no finding of any wrong doing.

$3.5 million: The amount of the irresponsible fee cut proposed by Peotter for the licenses of large businesses in the city. This would have created a huge budget deficit and was not even supported by the business community.

$719,000: The amount of additional annual debt service if Peotter’s policies had been followed in the financing of the civic center.

$300,000: The amount of funding Peotter attempted to delete from Diane Dixon’s efforts to improve police services on the peninsula.

$70 million: The amount the city’s unfunded pension liability has risen since Peotter took office.

When Peotter says we cannot afford the recall, I say we cannot afford not to recall him. Let’s take back our city from the out-of-town special interests.